History

How will the book about 2020 be written?
On Election Day, MPR News host Kerri Miller talks with two historians and hears from listeners about how 2020 will be remembered. 
Rare Ojibwe woven mats relocated from Isle Royale to Grand Portage
Last month, Isle Royale National Park transported five, 100-year-old hand-woven mats, made of cedar bark and sweetgrass, across Lake Superior to the Grand Portage reservation, where they will be displayed at Grand Portage National Monument. 
'Creepy Doll Contest' returns for Halloween at Minnesota museum
Nothing screams Halloween quite like the faded faces and piercing eyes of antique dolls. That's the idea behind the "Creepy Doll Contest" at the History Center of Olmsted County in Rochester, now back for its second year after gaining widespread attention in 2019.
NPR's Tom Gjelten on America's immigration story
NPR reporter Tom Gjelten speaks about America’s immigration history, as part of the Peace and Justice Series hosted by the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth.
Portraits of Valor: Joe Stephes, 99, Navy
Joe Stephes served the entirety of World War II in the Navy, sailing in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters with the USS Wichita. He guarded supply ships, shot down enemy planes and saw the destruction of atomic bombs firsthand.
Unlikely, but possible: How the presidency could hinge on Minnesota
The recent death of a third-party candidate in Minnesota’s 2nd District race will leave that seat temporarily vacant — which could end up swinging the results of the entire presidential election. Here’s how.
Newton Minow on the history and future of presidential debates
Newton Minow speaks about the history and future of presidential debates in the “Discourse Disrupters” series from Intelligence Squared.
152-year-old landmark Lanesboro Dam gets a makeover
A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for Thursday to celebrate the rehabilitation of the Lanesboro Dam, a project that’s been in the works for a decade
Senators push for Medal of Honor for late Black medic who saved lives at Normandy
Cpl. Waverly Woodson Jr., a member of an African American battalion, treated scores of soldiers wounded on D-Day but was passed over for the medal. Lawmakers and relatives have tried to change that.
Minnesota shipwreck hunters locate long-sought Lake Michigan wreck
More than a century ago, the Pere Marquette 18 started taking on water while crossing Lake Michigan, and jettisoned its cargo of rail cars into the lake in a desperate attempt to stay afloat. It sank with the loss of more than two dozen lives and the wreck site had eluded searchers for decades — until two Minnesotans found it this summer.